Overview | Bridge Mountain, Rainbow Mountain Wilderness, Nevada
Many consider
Bridge Mountain to be part of
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. This is because it is an obvious landmark seen from all points in
Red Rock Canyon, and the main access route to
Bridge Mountain is from the
Willow Spring Picnic and Trailhead area of
Red Rock Canyon. However,
Bridge Mountain is actually in the
Rainbow Mountain Wilderness, just below the Northern section of the
Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline.
Popular Hiking and Climbing Destination
Bridge Mountain is one of the most popular destinations for hikers and rock climbers visiting of
Red Rock Canyon. It offers a variety of challenges from
class 3 to class 5 and beyond rock climbing.
Views from Bridge Mountain Summit
The views from
Bridge Mountain summit are spectacular, including
Red Rock Canyon, the
Las Vegas Valley and beyond, the
Calico and Brownstone Basins and the
La Madre Mountains Ridgeline.
Best Time of Year to Summit Bridge Mountain
The best time of year to summit
Bridge Mountain is during the Fall or Spring months. Summer temperatures can rise to around 100 degrees. Winter can bring ice and snow, turning the smooth ancient
Jurassic Era frozen sand dunes that make up
Bridge Mountain into treacherous slick icy surfaces with huge vertical exposures.
Directions to the Start Point | Bridge Mountain, Rainbow Mountain Wilderness, Nevada
Take
Hwy 160 from
Las Vegas toward
Pahrump. The highway ascends over a “hump” (the
Potosi Mountain area). There’s a saying around here, “
Over the hump to Pahrump”. Well, you’ve just traveled over that hump. Around 4-5 miles from the point where the highway begins to descend toward
Pahrump there is a well-marked sign on the right for
Lovell Canyon Road. Proceed 12 miles up the well-paved road until the pavement ends and an unpaved road branches off to your left 1/4th mile from the official
Lovell Canyon Trailhead which will be on the right. There is ample parking across from the trailhead which will be on your right.
Views Along Lovell Canyon Road
Lovell Canyon Road is a beautiful stretch passing through a
Joshua Tree forest that soon becomes populated predominately with
junipers and
pines. There are ridges and meadows and many camping pull-outs along the way. This stretch reminds me a lot of the high desert area around
Bend Oregon. Very open and majestic. All the while you’re looking up at the Spring mountains with
Griffith Peak standing prominent. The road has very little traffic and would make a great bike, walking or running route. In fact, what an awesome backdrop for a marathon (pretty easy to add 2 miles to the 24-mile out and back stretch)!
Lovell Canyon & Rocky Gap Road Intersection
Proceed about 9 miles up the well-paved road to park at its unmarked connection with
Rocky Gap Road (Forest Road #45549 (see map).
↓ Narrative Guide ↓
Narrative Guide | Bridge Mountain, Rainbow Mountain Wilderness, Nevada
Exploration of Arch, Tinajas and Hidden Forest Just Below the Summit!
This adventure route to
Bridge Mountain begins at the intersection of
Lovell Canyon Road and
Rocky Gap Road in
Lovell Canyon. If you’re heading to the
Bridge Mountain trailhead on foot this is your shortest route.
Adventure Route Summary
Head up
Rocky Gap Road to the
Bridge Mountain Trailhead. If you’re on foot this is about a 2-mile stretch. If you’re driving, you’ll need a very rugged 4WD vehicle. There are portions of
Rocky Gap Road that are entirely washed out and resembling a dry river gully wash complete with boulders both small and huge and slick dry falls! The
Bridge Mountain Trailhead is located at the summit of
Rocky Gap Road. Take a right onto the
Bridge Mountain Trail and ascend to the summit of the
Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline. A right turn on the ridgeline will put you on the
Bridge Mountain Trail. In about a mile the trail circles around a long ridgeline and then descends that ridgeline to the base of
Bridge Mountain. From the base of
Bridge Mountain ascend the steep honeycomb sandstone ridge or alternate gully to the
Bridge Mountain Arch. Ascend from the inner bowl of the arch to the tinajas and hidden forest area. Then, retrace this route back to the starting point.
Rocky Gap Road and the Wilson Ridge Open Connections to Multiple Wilderness Areas!
Rocky Gap Road passes through the
Wilson Ridge (the “
gap” in “
rocky gap“). You’ll see towering cliffs on either side and some opportunities to ascend to the summit of the
Wilson Ridge and take the ridge either North all the way to
Harris Mountain. A left turn at
Harris Mountain would take you to
Griffith Peak where you could descend the
Sexton Ridge nearly all the way to the
Lovell Canyon Trailhead. About mid-way to
Harris Mountain the
La Madre Mountains Ridgeline splits off to the right and continues nearly all the way to the
Las Vegas Valley. If you headed South on the
Wilson Ridge you could take that ridge all the way to the lower opening of
Lovell Canyon. You could also cross over to the
Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline and take that ridgeline all the way to
Highway 160 at the base of
Potosi Mountain. So, the Wilson Ridge is a great connector ridge to
Red Rock Canyon, the
La Madre Mountains, the
Rainbow Mountains and the
Mt. Charleston Wilderness!
Rocky Gap Road to the Bridge Mountain Trailhead
Today you’re heading up
Rocky Gap Road to the
Bridge Mountain Trailhead. In addition to the massive
Wilson Ridge, notice a few great camping spots along
Rocky Gap Road. Prepare to yield to a few fast moving ATVs on the road. You’ll hear then coming a long way off! The
Bridge Mountain Trailhead is not very well marked, but it’s clearly the highest point on
Rocky Gap Road. It’s on the right. There is a wide space for parking at the trailhead.
Bridge Mountain Trailhead to the Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline
Ascend the
Bridge Mountain Trailhead to its high point on the
Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline. This is a
limestone ridgeline that parallels the entire length of the
Jurassic Era sandstone Rainbow Mountains. You can take the trail on the ridgeline in either a North or South direction and descend to each of the peaks in the
Rainbow Mountains — they’re all connected by saddles descending from the ridgeline. Between the
darker limestone of the ridgeline and the
colorful sandstone on the
Rainbow Mountains is the very distinctive dividing line of the famous
Keystone Thrust Fault.
Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline to the Descent to Bridge Mountain
Today you’re taking a right on the ridgeline and in about a mile begin descending to
Bridge Mountain, arguably the most famous and popular climbing destination in the
Rainbow Mountains. As you traverse that first mile before descending toward
Bridge Mountain take time to look around at the huge spectacular surroundings: Down to the
Rainbow Mountains and to the
Las Vegas Valley beyond; over to
Red Rock Canyon and the
La Madre Mountains Ridgeline; the
Mt. Charleston Wilderness is to the Northwest; the line of
Rocky Gap Road descends to
Lovell Canyon. There’s much more, but the ridgeline is an amazing vantage point. The stretch of trail to
Bridge Mountain is the most defined trail on the ridgeline. A very faint trail continues both North and South of the
Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline along the entire length of the
Rainbow Mountains.
Descending to the Western base of Bridge Mountain
There’s a long descent ridge from the
Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline to the Western base of
Bridge Mountain. The trail crosses over to the far (South) side of the descent ridge then begins its descent. Since you’re on the South side of the descent ridge, your most prominent view is of
Rainbow Mountain, nearest peak to the South and
Mt. Wilson behind
Rainbow Mountain. You’re looking straight down into
Pine Creek and Fern Canyons below. This is a good opportunity to plan an adventure in these canyons and up to
Rainbow Mountain. You can see a lot of detail including
Yoga Peak, a feature called
UFO Rock and a caldera shaped like a boomerang. You can also see much of the climbing route from
Pine Creek Canyon to the summit of Rainbow Wall. Some of these are pointed out in the video on this page.
As you reach the
sandstone area above
Bridge Mountain you’ll have a couple class 3 stretches to downclimb: A honeycomb formation and a narrow chute. None of these are major, but previous
rock climbing experience or a partner with that experience will be valuable.
Ascending to the Western Base of Bridge Mountain
Your ascent route target is a couple tall cracks leading from the Western base of
Bridge Mountain to the ledge with the arch. These distinctive features are located near the South (right) side of the Western base of the mountain. You’ll zig-zag up some large sandstone slabs with a 10-20% incline to get to the base of the first crack.
The Steepest, Most Exposed Stretch of This Adventure
At the base of the first crack you have a choice. You can ascend the towering, exposed honeycomb
class 3-4 ridge or the long crack to the left. The crack has much less exposure, but there are some ledges to ascend within the crack. The steep exposed honeycomb formation is…STEEP and EXPOSED, but I actually found it easier to ascend and descend than the crack because there were no ledges and the surface was very consistent with lots of hand and footholds. But the exposure was quite unnerving. During the ascent I just kept my eyes on my hands and feet, refraining from looking up or down of to the side! But, I’d never ascended something like this before. To loose your hold and fall during this stretch would most likely be a life-ending experience. However, note that on the return descent, though I started in the more protected crack, I soon moved back to the exposed ledge and actually descended facing outward, looking around and feeling more relaxed. However, I was still moving step by step with three solid points of contact at all times.
Once you’ve topped the first long crack/ridge, there’s a slight jog to your left and a SECOND long ridge or crack to ascend. The incline on this second stretch is a bit less which is very welcome at this point!
The above two stretches are the most challenging of the entire
Bridge Mountain climb…even more so than the final summit approach.
The Arch and Bowl
At the summit of that second crack/ridge breathe a sigh of relief and take a few steps to your left on the wide ledge to the spectacular massive
Bridge Mountain Arch. You want to look at this amazing feature from as many angles as possible. Looking from the outside in you’re looking through the arch into a large bowl. Upon entering the bowl and looking out many things are true at once: There are 3 tall steep sides; There is a distinctive echo; There’s an incredible framed view of the
Mt. Charleston Wilderness through the arch; One of the sides of the bowl is near as steep and challenging as the exposed ridge/crack you just summited, but there are a lot of features to anchor your ascent/descent including a large fallen tree that actually serves as a great ladder during the descent.
The Tinajas, Hidden Forest and Final Summit Approach
Upon ascending out of the bowl you’re on a large
sandstone slab looking down to your left (West) into a beautiful
tinaja. Below to your East is the beautiful long
Ponderosa Pine strand called the “
Hidden Forest“. Above the
Hidden Forest is the final summit approach zig-zagging up to the top of the large summit bulb. There are cairns to follow on the final summit approach…as there are cairns along most of the sandstone part of the route to
Bridge Mountain. And the surrounding view is incredible! There’s the
Las Vegas Valley and Strip below to the East,
Red Rock Canyon, the
Calico Basin and
La Madre Mountains to the Northeast, the
Rainbow Mountains stretching North and South,
Rainbow Mountain and
Mt. Wilson to the South and the
Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline to the West,
North Limestone Peak and
North Sandstone Peak are to the North, and much much more. Big picture: You’re seeing
sculpted sandstone settings,
pine forested ridges, snow-capped mountains, desert valleys and a huge metropolitan area with a world-famous casino strip.
We did not have time for the final summit approach during this adventure, but I believe we experienced the best of
Bridge Mountain.
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Initial Bridge Mountain Exploration from Willow Spring in Red Rock Canyon
I initially made it to the final summit approach of
Bridge Mountain. The route was up
Rocky Gap Road from
Willow Spring, then along the
Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline on the faint trail toward
North Limestone Peak.
This exploration provided great view of
Bridge Mountain from above on
North Limestone Peak and the
Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline
The
Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline is about a mile up from the
Bridge Mountain Trailhead. The trail is excellent. Once on the
Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline, a left turn (North) will take you to North Peak in about 1/4th mile. Instead, turn right (South) for
Bridge Mountain. As you continue on the ridgeline,
Bridge Mountain soon comes into view. The
Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline will descend for a bit, then ascend to the next high point. At that high point, the
Bridge Mountain Trail takes a left (East) and descends from the
Rainbow Mountains Upper Crest Ridgeline to the base of
Bridge Mountain. Once you cross over onto the
Jurassic Era frozen dune of
Bridge Mountain there will be cairns to guide the way.
This was a descent to the base of
Bridge Mountain in anticipation of a future ascent to the summit.
